Collins Lake

May flowers are in bloom along the shoreline as what feels like a throwback to early spring has rolled in with daytime highs in the 60’s and occasionally lower. By Thursday the forecast show temperatures climbing back into the 70’s and that should put us on track for good shore fishing right through the middle of the month.

Without as many hot days trout can be found in unseasonably shallow still cool waters.

Ken Uyemoto caught 2 trout on PowerBait, including a 4 3/4 pounder and later in the week Eric Smith and Jason Souza managed 8 trout caught on orange PowerBait near the dam. We’ve also seen a number of trout caught on lures, including Sahib & Gurdit who caught 4 on a Rapala and a “Max” Lure.

Judy Ralls was trolling a lure in the top 10 when she hooked her 4.75 pounder among a limit of large trout. David Russell rolled up with 4 trout caught on a Rapala trailing a wedding ring and filled out the brag-board with a large crappie.

Silvia Michalek of Geyerville topped the charts with her massive 7.75 pound trout caught using what she described only as “a shiny lure”

Water clarity continues to improve with surface visibility now over 10ft it’s essentially clear. Surface temperatures seem stuck around 63°F and while bass in warm corners of the lake may be hitting the beds early, I bet there are still quite a few snacking before hot weather triggers the spawn.

Back on May 1st, Spencer March and Dave Campbell were out trying the field fishing catch & release for bass, a seven-year-tradition. Spencer’s new born son is named Collins evidently the namesake of our very own lake- so it is with congratulations and in his honor that we report… that they report…. catching 40 bass from Sunrise to 2pm!

Normally I would put more effort into corroborating, but bass ALWAYS gorge before they fast for spawning. So if you’re skeptical you can take it with a grain of salt, but in prior years I’ve done half as well in a quarter the time, so I choose to believe they just had the right bait, in the right place at just the right time, the heavens opened and dragonflies landed on the tips of their fishing poles!

If you want to take a last shot at bass before the spawn try dropping a live crawdad or minnow down around any habitat. There’s a lot as last year’s extremely low levels allowed for vegetation to take hold of what is usually bare rocks and mud. Failing that a rubber worm or if there are circles in the silt visible from the surface, you might get traction with a topwater lure of last resort. For the most part they are cleaning house so 4-10ft is a more likely depth.

Expect a challenge and have a great time!